LGBTQ athletes Ish Polvorosa, Louis Gamban, Hero Austria: Volleyball is our safe space

For athletes Ish Polvorosa, Louis Gamban, and Hero Austria, volleyball is more than just a sport.

The three volleyball players shared that while the game serves as an avenue for them to show their on-court prowess and grit, as members of the LGBTQ community, it also provides them a safe space to freely express themselves.

Polvorosa is a national team member and former student-athlete for Ateneo in the UAAP. Growing up, it was a natural thing to be asked two questions: 'why volleyball?' and 'why not basketball?'

“Inside the community, (being an LGBTQ volleyball player is) not that big a deal,” Polvorosa, a three-time UAAP titleholder, told GMA News Online during an interview.

“But there was a time when I used to witness the mentality that volleyball is made just for the ladies while basketball is meant to be played by men. But that's what we’re here for - to advocate. Not just for any gender.”

The 24-year old floor general shared that the volleyball community always felt welcoming.

“We queer people always had safe spaces in the volleyball community because for me, we are the foundation of the sport in the country. Like myself, I learned how to play volleyball from a transgender player,” Polvorosa shared.

This is not a unique experience for Polvorosa.

Both Gamban and Austria shared that they also had LGBTQ mentor figures that helped them learn the sport when they were only just starting out.

Gamban gained some popularity in his rookie year with the University of the Philippines in UAAP Season 82 because of his on-court swag and attitude. But before that, he started in the sport playing with other gay volleyball athletes on the barangay level in his hometown of Bulacan. That exposure to other athletes from the LGBTQ community allowed him to feel safe.

“Volleyball is not just a safe space for us, it’s also a happy pill,” Gamban said in Filipino.

Austria, a former high school teammate of Gamban and a former NCAA Juniors Finals MVP, recalled a similar upbringing. The 20-year-old open hitter for the University of Perpetual Help Dalta Altas grew up in Parañaque and started playing under the tutelage of those he fondly calls his ‘nanay-nanayan’.

“There were a lot of gay players in our place and they introduced me to the sport. I remember playing in the streets with them and that’s when I fell in love with the sport,” Austria shared.

“My gay mother figures helped me discover my love for volleyball and since then, I never stopped playing.”

The presence of LGBTQ players on a community level has helped create a safe environment for other aspiring athletes to learn and participate in the sport. In the eyes of some, like Gamban, the normalization of LGBTQ athletes in volleyball has made significant strides.

“Actually, I can say that there’s no discrimination now because for me, there are now a lot of gay players in volleyball. It has become normal to see gay people playing the sport and not just men or women,” Gamban said.

But for Polvorosa, there is still some work to do when it comes to representation on a larger scale.

“We’re very fortunate because you can just go in the barangay level and you will still see a lot of queer people playing the sport. So we just need more representation.”

—JMB, GMA News